Saturday, November 26, 2016

Long before the Spaniards came the natives worshiped their anitos
and a number of nature gods. This ancestral spirituality laid the foundation on
the beliefs in talisman or anting-anting and its variety of powers. Centuries of colonial Catholicism further
provided many obscure and pagan elements, incorporating religious icons and concepts
- the Holy Spirit (Ispiritu Santo), Holy Trinity (Santisima Trinidad), Holy
Family (Sagrada Familia), Virgin Mother (Virgen Madre), the Eye, and many more - into the credo of anting-anting.

A popular collectible among numismatist are these silver amulets made from silver peso US- Philippine coins (1903-1905) and from Mexican 8 Reales / Un Peso coins. According to Albino Quiban, a senior coin collector / dealer and past president of Philippine Numismatic and Antiquarian Society (PNAS), these amulets were made by a certain Mang Maning
Dealino from Laguna in the 1950’s.They were made of low quality silver because the coins were
mixed with other metals to make them, that is why they have unusual
toning.

The average size is 40 mm,
similar to our large US-Philippine peso.You will notice that reverse and obverse were
interchanged with other designs creating a variety of amulets. Some of these are hollow inside and have faint
rattling sound when shaken.

Commonly the designs are St. Joseph (San Jose) , Holy Family
(Jesus, Maria, Jose), Mexican Eagle (Republica Mexicana) , Cup and Ray, Angel
with trumpet and Cross Keys. A rarity is the Dr. Jose Rizal amulet
with KKK flags and scale balance design at the back, which is highly sought by
collectors. Since these were made to look like coins, most of them were made to bring good luck in business.